Travel to a world of dark bargains struck by moonlight, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid’s voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a lovestruck boy’s bidding but only for a terrible price.

Inspired by myth, fairy tale, and folklore, #1 New York Times–bestselling author Leigh Bardugo has crafted a deliciously atmospheric collection of short stories filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice, and love.

Perfect for new readers and dedicated fans, these tales will transport you to lands both familiar and strange—to a fully realized world of dangerous magic that millions have visited through the novels of the Grishaverse.

This collection of six stories includes three brand-new tales, all of them lavishly illustrated with art that changes with each turn of the page, culminating in six stunning full-spread illustrations as rich in detail as the stories themselves.

Ok so first of all – I adore fairy tales, folk tales, mythology, retellings… if there’s any way to condense those under some umbrella or label, then that is my FAVORITE thing. I absolutely love when stories have traces of a familiar story, theme, or pattern, but then do a totally different twist. So obviously I would normally be excited about this book no matter what… but then on top of that it involves the GRISHAVERSE?!

Aaaahhh this was good. I mean, I expected to like it (because it’s Leigh Bardugo… enough said). But I completely fell in love with this little gem of a book. The stories are utterly magical, gritty, creepy, and SO original. They feel like traditional folk tales, yet have such a unique tone to them at the same time that just feels like the Grishaverse. Leigh really does have a gift with words. And I am SO PLEASED with how she went against the expected traditional fairy tale messages and created such dark, refreshing endings.

I had already read a few of the stories that had been published as individual novellas, like The Too-Clever Fox (which I initially thought might be about Nikolai because of course). But even the stories I was familiar with seemed totally new in this context! There are amazing illustrations that slowly grow over every single page like a flipbook. IT’S SO COOL.

The whole book is seriously stunning. The cover underneath the jacket and the quality of the paper (yes I am geeking out over the physical book too) and everything was just so prettyyyy. I am seriously blown away by this and cannot recommend it enough if you’re a fan of Leigh’s Grisha books or darker fairy tales.

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Meet the Blogger

Hi! I'm Cait. My childhood dream was to own Belle's library & not much has changed. Books are kind of my life right now, so you can usually find me fangirling over fictional characters on social media!